Gaming terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Thus, gaming manufacturers continuously strive to develop new games and improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is the concept of a “secondary” or “bonus” game that may be played in conjunction with a “primary” or “basic” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome in the basic game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and may also be accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio.
Another concept that has been employed is the use of progressive jackpots. In the gaming industry, a “progressive jackpot” involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s), such as slot machines, contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a jackpot-winning event. A jackpot-winning event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along an active payline. The initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. Further, when several gaming machines are linked together such that several players at several gaming machines compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate.
Interactive online gaming allows players to gamble from locations remote from casinos and other traditional gaming establishments. For example, a player may access a gaming web site on a global computer network, such as the Internet, from a computing device communicatively coupled to the global computer network. The computing device may, for example, be a personal computer, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), or wireless telephone (i.e., “cell phones”). In a typical online wagering game scenario, a player must first acquire internet connectivity, open a web browser on their computing device, access the host website, navigate the website to locate the desired wagering game, and supply personal and financial information (e.g., credit or debit card account information) before the player is permitted to engage in any wagering activity. Wagers are then deducted from the player's account, and payouts for winning outcomes are added to the account. Additional information regarding online gaming can be found, for example, in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,722,466 B2, to Wayne H. Rothschild, which issued on May 25, 2010, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.
The processes and interfaces required for online gaming can oftentimes be confusing and time consuming to the player. Moreover, the player must wait until they are granted access by the host website before they are permitted to engage in any online wagering game activities. There are also security risks associated with conducting electronic transactions over the internet, especially when the player is accessing a new and unfamiliar host website. These issues are exacerbated by gaming conducted wirelessly with portable computing and cellular devices, such as PDA's, tablets, and smartphones, which typically have less processing power, reduced internet connectivity, smaller display screens, and smaller QWERTY keyboards than their desktop counterparts, and are more susceptible to theft and tampering than personal desktop computers. For the foregoing and other reasons, there is a need for improved online and wireless gaming features that reduce the complexity and time required to engage in game play, provide enhanced security protection, and/or are more amenable to gaming conducted wirelessly with portable computing and cellular devices. Such new features will further enhance player excitement, perpetuate player loyalty, and thus increase game play and profitability to hosts and operators.